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The CDG Holiday Toy Gift Guide

The CDG Holiday Toy Gift Guide

12/13/07 9:14 a.m. Mountain Time: THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED TO ENTRIES. The WINNER (selected by random.org) is #40 Caryn of Bailey Family. Congratulations! :)NaBloPoMo – Day 21

It’s time to get serious about toy shopping, not only because the holidays are just around the corner, but because lately we’ve had recall after recall concerning toys made in China and toy shopping has had to become serious business. Serious business because it’s proving to be more important than ever to do your homework and know that the toys you are purchasing for your children will be safe (i.e. free from lead paint or any other toxic substances). If we can’t count on the government and toy manufacturers to protect our children, then we must step up and be vigilant on their behalf.

Since we are trying to weed out most of our plastic toys in our home and replace them with quality wooden toys, that’s what I’ve been on the lookout for for the past few months. It’s not just because of the toy recalls (though that’s been a definite motivating factor), but also because wooden and organic toys feel so much better, promote imagination (a big part of the Waldorf school of thought), and are generally built to last.

This gift guide is a bit different from traditional gift guides in that it primarily contains information about the places where I’m doing my holiday shopping this year, but I hope you will find it to be helpful as well. :)

Where oh where can I find quality toys without breaking the bank?

– When time is no object –

If you have time, some patience and a little bit of luck, you can score some great toys for the kids for little to no money at all, you just have to know where to look.

Freecycle – Freecycle can be a great resource for finding used previously loved toys. The good news is that everything listed on there is free and you are saving the items from otherwise ending up in the trash. The bad news is the fact that you may be “competing” against a lot of people for any one item so you have to pay attention to the listings and be quick to respond, and even then you aren’t guaranteed an item since it’s up to the person giving it away to decide who gets it. But if you have some patience and persevere, you could end up with some good finds. As they say, “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” In addition to my recent Christmas tree score, I also got this cute little hobby horse from Freecycle last week. :)

Craigslist – Another good resource for previously loved toys. Most of the items on Craigslist do cost money, but the nice thing is that you are recycling and giving the items (toys or anything else) a chance at being loved again (and again, keeping them out of the landfills).

Consignment store, thrift stores and garage sales – You never know what will turn up in consignment and thrift stores so my advice is to visit them often since they are always putting new merchandise up for sale. I recently found a handful of wooden toys at a local children’s consignment shop. You can also score some real treasures from garage sales. Can ya tell I’m a big fan of second-hand toys?

Crunchy tip:One of the many wonderful things about buying quality wooden toys is that they can be passed on from child to child, family to family, even generation to generation and most are built to last for the long haul. :) Plastic toys, on the other hand, tend to wear out or break, and end up in the landfills. :(

– When it’s getting to be crunch time –

When it’s getting down to the wire and you are still in need of quality toy gifts, there are still deals to be had if you know where to look.

Closeout stores – Stop in closeout stores like Tuesday Morning and Ross, among others, and you may be pleasantly surprised by some of the quality toys they carry. At the suggestion of a friend, I recently went to Tuesday Morning and found a large selection of German wooden toys (brands like Spielmaus and HEROS) for 50% off the retail price. Germany’s safety standards for toys are among the strictest out there. They also had Melissa and Doug toys, as well as Ryan’s Room toys in stock. Although their inventory can vary greatly from week to week, it is possible to find great toys at closeout stores for a fraction of the retail price. I ended up walking out of there with a wooden ring stacker, a wooden doll house, HEROS wooden blocks, a Spielmaus wooden workbench (that I’m saving until Julian is older), a children’s garden tool set and gardening gloves, two Melissa & Doug wooden puzzles, and a HEROS train set, and then Jody went back later and bought a 131 piece train table – all for 50% off!

Hazelnut Kids – Selling only “Natural, earth-friendly, wooden and organic cotton toys for children and babies” including brands like HABA (made in Germany), Plan Toys (a huge variety of wooden toys made in Thailand), Under the Nile (dolls and more made in Egypt), Elves & Angels (wooden kitchens made in USA), and Kathe Kruse (Waldorf dolls made in Germany), Hazelnut Kids is a new favorite online toy store of mine. I recently had the chance to try out one of their MiYim organic cotton teether rattles, well, Julian tried it out, but mama was very impressed. It’s an adorable rattle and very well-made, and I love the fact that it’s organic cotton since it’s going in his mouth. I was so impressed with Hazelnut Kids and the variety of quality toys that they offer (Note: each toy has a yellow box next to it that tells you what country the toy was made in) that I purchased several toys from their online store for upcoming birthday and Christmas presents like a wooden tableware set and modeling beeswax for Ava and a car, xylophone, and a punch and drop for Julian. The toys shipped the SAME DAY that I ordered them and the prices seemed very reasonable to a penny-pincher like me. I also like that for each toy you buy, Hazelnut Kids gives you “Loyalty Reward Points” that allow you to take money off future purchases. Their flat-rate shipping charge is only $5.95 for delivery within the contiguous United States. And if you sign up for their newsletter, you will receive coupons and free entries into drawings. I seriously can’t say enough good things about this company.

More ideas – Go indie!

Rather than support the big name toy stores this season, why not shop the local and independent toy stores in your area? You might pay a little more money, but you are also likely to receive better customer service and better quality toys.

Another cool feature about Etsy is that if you’d like to shop for items made by a seller in a particular city or state or country, you can use the Geolocator to enter in that location and it will show all sellers matching that description.

Let’s get creative!

Lastly, if you are feeling the creative juices flowing this holiday season, you can make some pretty awesome toys out of things like cardboard boxes and Fome Cor, including a kitchen in a box (made out of a carboard box!), a portable playhouse and a puppet playhouse. In addition to instructions on making cool toys for your kids, the Family Fun site has tons of craft ideas to do with your kids as well.

Some final thoughts on holiday shopping

Do your research. Buy brand names you know and can trust. Ask questions and don’t be afraid to contact the manufacturer if the store can’t answer your questions. The quality toys are out there. We just may need to look farther than the big box stores to find them. Cheers and happy shopping! :)

And now for the giveaway…

Win it!Hazelnut Kids has generously donated two great toys – a MiYim organic cotton elephant teether rattle and a Keptin Jr. organic cotton cuddle pants doll – to one lucky Crunchy Domestic Goddess reader. The MiYim elephant has a sweet, sewn-on face and a knitted, 100% organic cotton body. “It’s the perfect size for babies to hold and to teethe on.” The Keptin Jr. cuddle pants 100% organic cotton doll is filled with pure wool. “The simplicity of the design stimulates the child’s creativity, and the high quality of the product guarantees it will last.”

If you’d like a chance to win these great toys, please link to this gift guide either by writing a post about it or by placing the gift guide button from above (with a link back to this guide) on your blog. If you don’t have a blog, please send a link to this post to three of your friends and copy me on the email: amygeekgrl (at) gmail (dot) com. Once you’ve done one of those things, please leave a comment below and you will be entered into the drawing. The winner will be selected using Random.org on Thursday, Dec. 13, and announced that day. Good luck! :)

64 Comments

Great guide! Thanks for taking the time to do this. I’ll have to check out Hazelnut Kids- I have never heard of them before, but excited to check out their site.

I agree that wooden toys do last longer, but from my experience, I like some plastic toys, and not all plastic toys wear out. I have seen some really nice, well cared for, vintage plastic toys on e-bay recently, that are 30+ years old, and still look brand new. Obviously they have been well cared for.

I think it depends a lot on the owner- how well they take care of their toys, and if they choose to recycle toys, or decide to just toss them, wooden or plastic.

I have had a few wooden toys (mainly the muscial instruments, and the little cars, with pins holding the wheels in) that my boys destroyed in a matter of minutes. One was a xylophone from Melissa & Doug, that they pulled the pins out, and then the bars fell out. Since the pins never quite fit back in right, and kept falling out, they were a choking hazard, and the bars wouldn’t stay on. I ended up throwing it away. On the other hand, I bought a plastic Little Tykes xylophone at a consignment sale, and the boys gave it the same rough treatment, and it is still in one piece after 3 months. So I think it can vary greatly on how “rough” your kids are on toys, and well made the toys are.

It is so scary though on all the recalls, and I do feel a lot safer buying wood toys now. I just bought my neice a Melissa & Doug rattler today, which said on the package non toxic dye (since it was painted) and that was great! I wish more companies would list the substances and what exactly is on their toys.

I just bought some toys from Vermont Fairies. I love her toys, and I love supporting a homeschool student. Of course, now that you’ve linked to her, she’ll have to set her schoolwork aside for a bit to fill all her orders ;-)

There really are many websites with great american toys. Trouble is there are so many that it can be time consuming to do all the research. Because of that I’ve put together a database of all the american items I can find. I started with toys because of the christmas rush. The list is far from complete, but at last count there were almost 400 toys and can find out where they are sold too. Try out http://www.madebyyankees.net P.S. I’m not a store and I’m not selling anything. Just a service to those looking for made in USA products.

I am not entering because Hazelnut Kids just did a giveaway on my site but I just wanted to chime in and say what a great place they are. I love the owner…very personable and the toys did ship the same day. I got my son’s gift on one day. Love them.

What an awesome guide, Amy! I am a regular with Freecycle, Craigs List and consignments stores, but I hadn’t thought to look at places like Tuesday Morning – thanks for the tip! I’ll try and find the time to browse Etsy too…I know there are plenty of great finds waiting there to be found!

Great guide indeed! You reminded me to get back on my Freecycle groups and also encouraged me to look at Etsy this season. I love to put $ into the hands of another mom, prefer it actually. And you know with handmade goodies, they are made with a good deal of love as well.

I have your button in my sidebar and I have to say that lil elephant is too stinkin cute LOL

I have linked to you on my blog, but since I don’t have any children, if I win the drawing, I will be happy to pass the items on to my best friend who has two young kids. (Mostly because it would be a waste to give the organic teething ring to my puppy.) Thanks for putting so much work into this.

About me

My name is Amy and I've been blogging on CDG since 2005. A mama of two living in Colorado, I'm passionate about attachment parenting, health and wellness, green living, essential oils, urban homesteading, unschooling/home schooling and living your best life.
I'm trying to change the world, one blog post at a time.
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